I'm sorry guys for posting so late. It's really been a rough month for me and I'm really not being dramatic when I say that (to say it delicately) there was a big possibility that this story would been incomplete forever. But I really want to thank you for your reviews and your continued support. I promise I'll do better and push out more chapters.
Please enjoy.
"We've almost got it Luna." The two cats have been working tirelessly to work a little of their lunarian magic in order to return to Earth. Days had passed by, perhaps even weeks. But neither of them were sure… it was difficult to tell time at the Time Gates.
"I hope everyone is alright." Despite trying to remain positive, Luna could not help but worry, especially about Usagi. They were more than just guardian and princess… they were family. Usagi would give her life to protect Luna even though she was the princess and they would always support each other whenever they needed. She hoped to hell that Usagi didn't send her and Artemis to the Time Gates to protect them when everything was being destroyed. But no matter what might've happened, Luna kept telling herself that there was no point in thinking about such things and all she needed to do right now is focus on returning to Earth. She did however, have a sneaking suspicion that Artemis was feeling the same thing about Mina and like her, chose to work instead of voicing his concerns.
They continued to work until finally… "We did it Artemis!" In a flash, they appeared in the familiar surroundings of Juuban Park.
"Great!" They quickly ducked behind some bushes to carry out their conversation, "Everything looks alright…" Both of them took the time to observe their surroundings. Artemis was right… everything looked the same.
Luna sighed in relief, "Well at least we know Galaxia didn't take over the universe." She frowned in concentration, wondering why they ended up at the Time Gates if Earth was saved. "Anyways, we should find the girls as soon as possible. Artemis, you're going to find Mina right?" The white cat nodded sharply, "Alright, I'm going to Usagi's house. We'll round them up and met at the Hikawa Shrine in say an hour."
"Sounds like a plan. See you then Luna." Artemis quickly turned around and headed towards Mina's house.
Luna ran down the street in the opposite direction, hurrying to see her own blonde master. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask… but she didn't even know what time she was in or even if Usagi was alive. "I hope you're okay Usagi… you better be okay." So wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice a grubby pair of hands reach out and grab her.
"Hey guys! Lookee what I haves here!" A boy with a straw hat was waving her around to show his friends, who came running up to the boy. "I caught a kitty."
"What's that on her head?"
"It looks weird…"
The boys proceeded to plaster a bandaid on Luna's crescent moon since they found it odd.
"SHIT! How am I going to get out of this?" Panicking, Luna started scratching and trying to claw at the boys to free herself when suddenly… "Hang on… this seems familiar…" And right on cue, Usagi turned the corner.
"Hey what are you boys doing to that cat!?" As Usagi charged at the boys, they dropped Luna and ran away. Usagi delicately picked Luna up and peeled off the bandaid on her forehead. "Are you okay kitty? What a cool mark you have on your forehead." She smiled and gently combed through Luna's fur.
"What is going on? Doesn't she remember me? Oh my gosh…" Once glance at Usagi's younger appearance, Luna suddenly realized that they had gone back in time. "Did we screw up somewhere when we came back? Shit... what should I do now? I need to talk to Artemis…" She needed to get discuss it with Artemis immediately. If they did return to the past, it should be playing out as it did before. But right now, unlike the actual first time they met, Luna didn't have a mission to find the lost Moon Princess and she certainly did not have Sailor Moon's old brooch. "What should I do…?" Just as she was about to run off to find Artemis…
"Oi Odango!" Luna's head peaked over Usagi's shoulders to see someone she never expected in this time period… Seiya Kou. Luna's red eyes widen in surprise. "Why didn't you wait for me so I could walk you home?" Seiya pouted.
The blonde's eyebrows rose teasingly. "Why do I need you to walk me home?"
"So I can protect you from bad guys. Who knows what they might do to cute helpless Odangoes?" He chuckled as Usagi looked offended at being called helpless.
"For your information Seiya Kou, I rescued this kitty," she swung Luna violently and shoved her in Seiya's face, "I can take care of myself." She stuck out her tongue.
Despite being waved in front of Seiya's face, Luna was glad to hear that Usagi still had the same temperament and carefree personality. As for the situation right now, Luna could tell that Usagi and Seiya still had the same close friendship from the way they spoke to each other. Luna always suspected that Usagi may have fallen for Seiya if it were not for her destiny and Serenity's undying love for Endymion. She wasn't sure how she would react if she discovered that the Moon Princess and Earth Prince did not end up together – conflicted by her duty as a guardian and her friendship with Usagi. But she didn't have to wait long until she needed to figure it out…
Seiya smirked, "Well done defending her against a bunch of kindergarten kids." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and Usagi looked embarrassed, not realizing that he knew. He stepped forward towards her and leaned in to whisper into her ears. His hot breath sent a wave of electricity down her spine, "May I have the pleasure of your company then, my beautiful and brave Odango?" As he slowly pulled back, he turned his head and planted a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth so as to tempt her. Her lips curled up into a smile, knowing his tricks – it worked well... Usagi couldn't wait until he gave her a long passionate kiss. Seiya winked and slid his arms around her waist as Usagi cradled Luna. He tugged on her waist gently to lead her home. The two of them walked side-by-side with an astonished Luna, still not believing what had just transpired.
"Are you going to keep that cat?" Seiya looked down at Luna and tried to stroke her head with one of his fingers. Luna wasn't sure whether or not to swat his finger away or let him continue. She did enjoy the gentle strokes but also felt like she was betraying the Prince.
"I think so." Usagi also looked down at Luna. She was excited to have a pet but there was something else… Usagi felt an instant connection with this cat. Luna purred at her affectionately to reassure her.
"What are you going to name her?"
"Hm… I haven't decided yet." The crescent moon on Luna's forehead caught her eye. "Perhaps I should name her something that has to do with the moon." Usagi didn't know why she thought that, but nevertheless felt that it would fit her quite well.
"She's quite a beautiful cat." Seiya leaned in to take a closer at her forehead. "That's interesting." He stopped walking and narrowed his eyes to focus on the crescent moon. "It looks just lik-"suddenly, he dropped to his knees and grabbed his head, groaning.
"Seiya!" Usagi let Luna down, fell to her knees, and tried to wretch his hands away from his head. She cupped his face with both her hands and made him look at her. "Seiya!"
It jolted him back to reality. Her cool hands and voice calmed him. As he looked into her eyes, his body relaxed… the pain was fading. "I have to tell Taiki about this" he made a mental note and hoped that he could remember everything by then.
"Sorry for worrying you Odango. I'm fine now." He gave her a weak smile. "Thank you." He pulled her in for a hug; he was scared but the mere presence of his Odango calmed him.
"Anytime Seiya." She was still worried but similar to Seiya, she knew that if he was with her, everything would be fine.
Luna, who was standing on the floor looking at the two couple embrace, saw the deep connection between them. There was no doubt in her mind that Usagi was in love with Seiya, and vice versa. "This is going to end in a disaster…" But despite problems with the Silver Millennium destiny, she did not miss the sudden headache Seiya had gotten when he seemed to have recognized her crescent moon. Luna was glad she didn't immediately run off to see Artemis, otherwise she would have missed Seiya's little episode. Her mind worked quickly to process everything that had happened up until that moment… "He met up with Usagi and they were heading home. Then… it was almost as if… he recognized..." She gasped, fortunately neither Seiya nor Usagi noticed. Luna had realized that Seiya was starting to remember the crescent moon on her forehead. If life was somehow 'restarted', whatever did it didn't wipe their memories completely. There was a glimmer of hope… the memories of their past live was buried deep inside them. And if they still existed, they can remember it again. She and Artemis were going to have to find a way to help everyone restore their memories… without the pain.
When they reached the street in front of their homes, Seiya and Usagi parted was after a brief goodbye kiss and their regular promise to meet later at night. And just like always, Usagi would happily skip up to her room and sing to herself, replaying the few minutes she got with Seiya during the day. But today, her little routine included Luna, much to the cat's dismay. Usagi held firmly on to Luna's body and twirled her around in the room. She kept twirling… and twirling… and twirling… until Luna was completely dizzy. She was on the verge of opening her mouth in order to tell Usagi to stop.
"Ne~" Usagi sat Luna down on her bed as she leaned on the edge of the bed, talking dreamily, "Seiya is so amazing. I'd never tell him that though. His ego is big enough." She giggled softly and consciously stroked Luna's soft fur. Her eyes twinkled as she continued, "I never imagined I'd be with someone like him. He's so kind, cool, funny, and just… amazing. I can't believe he would love someone like me. I mean he can pick any other girl but he chose me…" She sighed, "I feel like I don't deserve him but ever since we met, he accepted me and I felt… I felt alive…" Sighing again, Usagi closed her eyes to reminisce, "I'm so scared of losing him. All those years without him were awful but I knew he was still watching over me." Her mind drifted back to all the flowers he gave her. Throughout the years, Usagi had secretly dried one petal from each flower he gave her and kept it all in a jar. Whenever she was upset or lonely, the jar of petals reminded her that she was loved and never alone. "He still gives me flowers you know? Seiya really is a great guy and I love him so much." She opened her eyes and gave Luna the brightest smile, one that the cat had only seen when Usagi use to talk to Mamoru, "But you don't understand what I'm saying, do you kitty-chan? It'll be our little secret. Seiya doesn't need a bigger head." She giggled, got up and headed downstairs to get some food.
"Usagi-chan…" Luna whispering voice was heavy with sadness. Had it simply been a case of forgotten memories, Luna could easily fix it. But Usagi had fallen madly in love with Seiya. She didn't want to destroy the happiness she saw in her friend's eyes. If she was to restore the original timeline, Usagi would be forced to live out Princess Serenity's live… one that most definitely did not include Seiya or Sailor Star Fighter. "Oh Usagi-chan… what should I do?"
When night came, Usagi crept up on to her roof at 9 o'clock like she did every night to meet Seiya. Luna had already figured that Usagi would be meeting Seiya and did not follow her to the roof. She was pacing in the room, thinking about what she should do.
Knock knock.
The knockings were barely audible that Luna thought she imagined it. But when she heard it again, louder this time, Luna walked cautiously to the noise. It was coming from the balcony. She knew Usagi wouldn't knock so she was wary. Slowly sneaking to the balcony, Luna finally saw a glint of white reflected by the moonlight. "Artemis" Being so caught up with everything, she had completely forgotten to meet up with him. She hurried over to the balcony doors and was thankful that Usagi had left it open, so she pawed it open quietly to let Artemis slip in.
"What happened?" Artemis had been freaking out – first he couldn't find Mina and then he thought that something had happened to her when Luna didn't show. He had to wait until he knew Luna was alone before seeing her.
"Sorry Artemis. When I bumped into Usagi, I completely forgot." She smiled at him sheepishly but her face quickly grew serious. "We have a big problem."
Artemis simply frowned and Luna understood it as a sign for her to continue.
"When I met Usagi, I realized that it was similar as when we met last time. So if I'm correct, it means that Usagi and the rest of the girls lost their memories of being sailor scouts." Luna realized that Usagi was the same age as when they first met, but unlike the last time, Usagi rescued her in the afternoon not in the morning. The biggest difference of course was Seiya's appearance. 'How do I even tell him…?'
Artemis quickly jumped in before Luna could continue, "They could live as normal girls now. But even if any enemies appeared, we've helped them regain their memories before…" He didn't understand why Luna would consider this a 'big problem'.
Luna sighed… she might as well just tell him upfront, "Usagi is dating Seiya."
"The Starlights… are here?" He was clearly confused about the change in their history, but then it finally hit him, "So Usagi-san and Mamoru-san…"
"I'm not sure if they've even met yet… or any of the girls for that matter."
"But Usagi-san has always loved Mamoru-san. Perhaps if Usagi-san met Mamoru-san again, they'll fall in love again and Crystal Tokyo will still be created."
"Seiya and Usagi-chan are on the roof right now." Artemis had noticed people on the roof when he came to see Luna, but it was too dark for him to see who was there. "Usagi-chan loves him so much. I saw it this afternoon."
"This is a problem…" He sighed, "Maybe if Usagi and Mamoru met again they'll remember each other and everything can be restored…" Artemis repeated but there was no mistaking the doubt in his voice. Artemis could only hope, but with the way things are… they couldn't be sure of anything anymore.
Luna doubted Artemis's statement, "I hope so but now, I don't know if Usagi-chan can leave Seiya. If it were simply a matter of forgotten memories, we can restore it and Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san will be together. But Usagi-chan will always love Seiya now… if even a little. It will never be the same."
"Luna…" Artemis understood where she was going with this and he was sympathetic. He placed a paw on her shoulders and smiled kindly, "you don't want to restore their memories do you?"
Luna's eyes were swimming with tears, "Oh Artemis," he knew her so well; "I don't want to force her to become someone she's not. I saw it the first time: Usagi-chan loved Seiya but she refused to acknowledge it for everyone and for the sake of the future. But now she has the chance. Should we really take that away from her?"
Mentioning the future, Artemis reminded her of something that Luna had forgotten to consider. He hesitated slightly in order to phrase it delicately, "Chibi-Usa…" was all he muttered out when he couldn't think of any other way.
"Shit…" She hadn't considered the future heir to the Silver Millennium. Can they really give up the cute pink-haired girl? She sighed… it was not going to be an easy choice, "I guess we can't really avoid destiny can we?"
Artemis's lips twitched to form a bitter smile, "It's not for a lack for trying though."
"You're probably right," she too had smiled bitterly at their unfortunate predicament. "There is something else to consider though." Both Luna and Artemis turned serious once again as she recounted Seiya's reaction upon recognizing the crescent moon.
"But that's never happened to any of the girls before." Was this something that would happen to them if they tried to restore their memories this time? Was it a one-time occurrence? Or was this something that only happened to the Starlights because they were aliens?
Luna saw all the unanswerable questions in his head, "I know what you're thinking Artemis. I don't know either. We need help Artemis and maybe… we should restore the memories of one of the girls… carefully?" She wasn't sure about her request since she didn't know what would happen. But like she said, they needed help.
Artemis nodded sharply. "Leave that to me."
"Eh?" Luna was expecting to do it herself, "you're not going to London to find Mina?" She thought she knew Artemis pretty well but sometimes he was still capable of surprising her.
"You need to be here to watch over Usagi-chan and…" his face darkened as he turned away to look out the window, "even if I could somehow get to London, Mina… if Yaten is here…"
He didn't need to say any more. It was too late regarding Usagi and Seiya's situation, but Luna knew Artemis only wanted to keep Mina away from Yaten as long as possible to avoid the same problem. Artemis knew Mina's love for Yaten and if their memories are restored, the Starlights will leave and the girls will be heart-broken. "It's ok Artemis. I'll let you handle it then." Luna gave him a reassuring smile.
"Thank you Luna." He returned the smile and headed towards the balcony door. "I'll come by again to give you any updates."
She padded over to the door to close it after him and watched as a white figure streaked towards the apartment of their genius friend. "Good luck Artemis and… Ami-chan."
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